With how Twitter was blowing up about the defense during the first half of the Falcons game, you would’ve thought we were watching the AFC Championship game all over again. It was definitely concerning that the Falcons were able to throw at will on a majority of the first stringers, especially over the middle of the field, but at least this game doesn’t count, right? If anything, this could be a huge turning point for the defense as a whole proving that they still have things to improve on.

I feel like from a communication standpoint we can continue to get better. We had some issues that we thought we put to bed last year. They rose back up.

That was Arthur Moats talking to Teresa Valley about one area he had in mind that needed improvement. Even Cameron Heyward expressed some frustration after the game:

There are plays we have to get better on, simple as that… I’m not going to say we’re the best defense right now but there are lumps that need to happen. I’m glad they’re happening right now.

However, the defense did have some good plays sprinkled in, especially during the second half.

Watt Are You Trying to Do?

The Falcons would eventually score on this drive, but I wanted to highlight this particular defensive play because it includes proper technique and positioning from the entire defense.

The Falcons are in an I-formation (fullback and running back are lined up directly behind the quarterback just like the letter ‘I’) with Tevin Coleman in at running back. The Falcons run an outside zone, a staple of Kyle Shanahan’s offense in previous seasons, where the play is designed to get to the perimeter and allows the running back to cut up field if a window or hole appears. The Steelers are countering with their base 3-4 defense with safety Sean Davis coming up towards the line of scrimmage due to TE Austin Hooper’s motion.

From the snap, DE Cameron Heyward and OLB T.J. Watt do a tremendous job of fully extending their arms into the chest of the left guard and left tackle giving them the advantage in both leverage and positioning as you see in the screenshot below:

Watt keeps his outside arm free which forces LT Jake Matthews to have to reach to try and keep his man from getting outside. Because Davis holds the edge well, Tevin Coleman is forced to cut the run inside into the waiting arms of Watt. Props to ILB Tyler Matakevich for filling the hole. Yes, I chuckled after typing that sentence.

Great team defense and a loss of one yard on the play.

A Little Too Easy

If you were wondering, “Man, that touchdown by that Falcons running back looked easy”, well, it was.

The Steelers were in their nickel defense to counter the Falcons’ 3-receiver set, and that’s where the problem begins. Last year, the Steelers struggled to stop the run on a consistent basis when they took a defensive lineman out of the game for a defensive back. Due to the lack of size in nickel, they usually got overpowered, and offensive linemen would go to the second level and block linebackers to break off big gains.

On this handoff from shotgun formation, the offensive line runs two double teams: LT Matthews and LG Levitre on Tyson Alualu and C Mack and RG Schweitzer on Stephon Tuitt.

A kickout block by Hooper takes Watt out of the play. Once Alualu is washed out, Matthews peels off and gets on ILB Vince Williams making a lane right down the middle. Matakevich is the first Steelers player to make contact, but by the time that he does, Ward has a full head of steam and barrels in for the easy touchdown.

L.J. Will Man the Fort

Most casual fans probably don’t know who L.J. Fort is, but boy did he have a game on Sunday. This play jumped out at me while watching it live, so I had to include it in this week’s film breakdown.

The Falcons are lined up in an Ace formation (single back and two tight ends) and ran an outside zone to the left vs. the Steelers base 3-4 defense with Dangerfield playing close to the line. Honestly, there’s really nothing to explain on this play. Fort just does a phenomenal job of blowing up the left tackle (Daniel Brunskill, #76) and keeping his outside arm/shoulder free much like Watt did on the play I broke down earlier. I just love that Fort was able to tackle the back even with Brunskill draped all over him. Credit to Arthur Moats for keeping the edge, so even if Fort didn’t make the tackle, he was in the perfect position to clean it up.

That’s Number Four

I could’ve highlighted any one of the four sacks the Steelers defense had, but wanted to give some love to OLB Farrington Huguenin. This was his second sack in as many weeks, and with Keion Adams potentially going to IR, he may have played himself into a practice squad spot.

This fire zone blitz that Keith Butler likes to run was what got CB Mike Hilton a sack last week. The cornerback and linebackers overload one side while the backside linebacker or defensive lineman plays the hook zone area to take away any check downs or hot routes. Here’s a diagram of how the blitz looked on paper:

• OLB Arthur Moats and ILB Matt Galambos cover the crossing routes
• Looks like CB Brian Allen, CB Mike Hilton, and both safeties, Dangerfield and Jacob Hagen are playing deep zones behind
• CB Brandon Dixon, ILB Fort, and OLB Huguenin overload the defensive left side
• NT Daniel McCullers looks like he’s spying the running back, and helps out when he sees the back staying in to pass protect
• DE Lavon Hooks is playing contain making sure the QB doesn’t go outside the tackle box

The Falcons’ offensive line and RB Kelvin Taylor do a great job of picking up the blitz, but Hooks’s penetration was just enough to make Simms hesitate. One second in football is the difference between a completion and a sack.

Highway to the Danger Zone

The last play I wanted to look at was Dangerfield’s second interception of the game. This was the second-to-last drive of the game for the Falcons, and with two timeouts left, they had ample time to go the length of the field.

The play was designed to get the ball out quickly to the running back to convert the 3rd and short. Even if Pressley caught this ball, don’t know if he would’ve gotten enough yards with Fort and Dangerfield closing in quickly, but I was impressed that Dangerfield held onto the ball even after the immediate contact from the running back.

 

Did any particular defensive play stand out to you? Please let us know!